Life Is Short: How to Make the Most of Your Time

The activities of our lives ebb and flow with each season. It seems like we have lots of time, but life goes by quickly. There isn’t time to do everything. We must prioritize. Yes, there is time to do a lot of good things. But it is easy to squander our time, doing nothing that really counts, and then we get to the end of our lives and are filled with regret. I don’t want that to happen to me or you.

1. Life isn’t as long as we think it is.

Our lives aren’t as long as we imagine them to be. Some people have extremely short lives, dying before they hit thirty. Some even die in the midst of an innocent childhood. People die in every decade of life: childhood, teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, etc. This doesn’t feel fair, but it happens, nonetheless. No one is guaranteed a certain number of years on this planet.

We must remember that our days are numbered and that life is fleeting. Like the morning fog, we are here a little while, and then we’re not. Even people that live into their 80s, 90s, and beyond 100 feel like their lives flew by. Remembering that our days are numbered may seem morbid, but it is actually wisdom. Seeing death around us and realizing that one day we will die too helps us to treasure the life and time we have left. It helps us to do important things and not just things that pass time.

2. A little bit of good each day goes a long way.

People tend to think of the big, grand plans when they think of making the most of their lives. But really, making the most of our time may simply mean taking advantage of every opportunity we see. It may mean setting down your phone when there is a human being sitting with you. Set down your phone, make eye contact with them, and speak to them. You just might encourage them when they are going through a tough time.

Busyness doesn’t usually mean that we’re making the most of our time. There are a lot of seemingly urgent tasks that aren’t really important at all, at least not in the long-term view. Satan often desires for us to get busy doing this or that and forget about some of the other things that might need our attention. He might get us so busy doing something good, like making dinner, that we don’t realize that a child is weeping inside because they don’t know what to do. They may need your help more than they need their belly full. Satan tries to steal, kill, and destroy our precious and fleeting time. He keeps us so busy with a to-do list that we don’t have time for the deeper, more satisfying things in life. 

Making the most of our time may mean that we pause often throughout our days and ask God in prayer if this particular activity is the best thing for us to be doing. It can also mean that we break long projects down into small tasks so that we can work a little each day on it. A little bit every day builds up over time, and soon that project is done. Completing things we start, even when it takes us a long time to get to the finish line, is a great way to make the most of our time and opportunity.

Another thing that helps us to make the most of our lives is gratitude for all the blessings that God has given you. Do you have food and drink in your house? Do you have a job? These are all provisions from the hand of God. You may not always have everything you want but if you have what you need, it is very good. An attitude of gratitude is a way of worshipping God. Thank Him for supplying your needs.

In order to make the most of your life and honor God in the process, you should do activities that help other people. It’s easier to go to your job every day when you think of it as a way to provide for your family and not just something you do. Helping people is the most important thing we can do in this life. God loves it when we serve others as often as we can.

Offer your plans to God before you fulfill them. Pray about His plans for you and your life. Read your bible regularly to make sure that anything you “hear” is consistent with God’s Word. Then you have the freedom to work willingly at whatever you do. Don’t worry about people’s opinions. They may not like everything you do. You’re working for the Lord, not other people’s opinions. In time, something you do for the Lord may even help one of those naysayers.

3. One day at a time – that’s all we have - we only have today.

Pray about the important things that you would like to do for the Lord. Then work steadily toward those goals. If you only have a half hour per day, that’s fine. Just make the most of that half hour. Then do it again the next day and the next and the next. That’s how progress is made. A little each day goes a long way!

Just like grass withers and flowers fade, you don’t have forever either. You should make the most of each precious day that you are given.

- Wake up in the morning without hitting snooze whenever you can. It is unwise to whittle the day down before you even get out of bed.

- Thank God for another day.

- Shower and dress to begin your day with energy.

- Take some time to sit down with your bible and read it. You have a limited lifespan on this earth, but God’s Word will last forever.

- Take care of all your God-given responsibilities first. Work as though you are working directly for the Lord because you are.

- Then remember to work on those important things that you sense God is pressing you to do. Just a little each day is okay. Consistency is key.

- Make time to listen to people that you see each day. You never know when someone may need a friend, and God may be calling you to talk with them.

To fulfill the purpose of the life that God gave you, remember these three things: 

1. Love God, 
2. Love people, and 
3. Do the things that God seems to be calling you to.

Don’t procrastinate. Don’t waste time on things that don’t matter. And don’t let fear stop you. Life is short.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/INDU BACHKHETI

Jennifer Heeren loves to write and wants to live in such a way that people are encouraged by her writing and her attitude. She loves to write devotional articles and stories that bring people hope and encouragement. Her cup is always at least half-full, even when circumstances aren’t ideal. She regularly contributes to Crosswalk. Her debut novel is available on Amazon. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia with her husband. Visit her at her website and/or on Facebook.